The 23 Best Horror Games
- October 30, 2008 16:29 PM PST
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#14: Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of Earth
Easily one of the most overlooked horror-themed games in existence, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of Earth can be described as a more menacing version of Myst with guns, less puzzles, and placed into H.P.Lovecraft's short novel The Shadow Over Innsmouth. Slower in pace than your average horror game, Dark Corners of Earth, more than makes up for its lack of action with the foreboding and surreal atmosphere its dripping with. Another thing that adds to the terror you'll feel as you're playing through the game is the way that the main character experiences hallucinations as you run into disturbing things in the game such as butchered bodies and other unsettling sights.
Also Try: The 7th Guest
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#13: Doom 3
Upon its controversial release in 2004, Doom 3 was rightfully knocked for its flimsy multiplayer mode and cheap scare tactics. Well, monster closets be damned -- even though Doom 3's demonic foes take less-than-honorable tactics, the results were frequently heart-stopping. Take the Imp, a spider-like demonoid who would pounce across the room to maul you with his savage claws. Though Doom 3 is far from a perfect game (the ending levels lost some steam), if you can look past the flaws you'll experience some real chills. The battles with the 15 foot-tall Hell Knights are particularly memorable. Plus, the graphics still look stunningly atmospheric even four years later. if you haven't played it yet, give it a whirl.
Also Try: Doom II
#12: The House of the Dead 4
Mowing down zombie hordes is an excellent way to pass the time, and The House of the Dead 4 added plenty of new ways to immerse yourself in this wicked light-gun shooter. Aside from the inclusion of multiple branching paths, the game's new motion sensor-equipped gun would require you to physically jostle your sidearm to shake off zombies that grab onto you. As if that wasn't enough, these waves of undead creepers will even try to knock players down and smother them, making it unwise to rest your trigger finger for even a second.
Also Try: The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return (Wii)
Click here for more The Suffering screens!
#11: The Suffering
Midway's The Suffering is a meaner, grislier answer to the Resident Evils and Silent Hills of the world that more or less dominate the survival-horror genre. The Suffering wasn't quite polished as the horror game powerhouses mentioned, with its clunky controls and slightly repetitive gameplay, but its story remains one of the darkest ever in a video game, placing you in the role of a shape-shifting convict on death row for brutally murdering his wife and son. In one part of the game we'll never forget, you enter a padded cell where a bloodied prison guard with both his arms and legs cut off is flopping around the center of the room like a fish. That's just a small taste of the ghastly sights within The Suffering.
Also Try: The Suffering: Ties that Bind
Click here for more Fatal Frame II screens!
#10: Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
While most horror games have you facing off against fleshy aggressors such as zombies and other monstrosities with shotguns and other firearms, the Fatal Frame games have you battling ghosts with a camera. But your Camera Obscura is no ordinary Nikon -- it has the ability to enslave the evil spirits you point its lens at. If you haven't experienced the game for yourself, play Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, the strongest entry in the blood-curdling series.
Also Try: Fatal Frame
Click here for more Siren: Blood Curse screens!
#9: Siren: Blood Curse
Available via download on the PlayStation Network, Siren: Blood Curse is an enhanced version of the first bone-chilling, but underrated Siren that was originally released on the PS2. The game's story centers around a TV crew investigating a vanished village in Japan. Though the game is often compared to the superior Silent Hill franchise, it's different in a number of ways, the main of which is how you must use stealth in order to survive the horrors you encounter. You also have a huge arsenal of weapons at your disposal in Siren: Blood Curse, totaling over 50. For gamers who get a kick out of offing their enemies in a lot of ways, go download Blood Curse at once.
Also Try: Forbidden Siren 2
Click here for more Dead Rising screens!
#8: Dead Rising
Sure, Dead Rising ripped off the premise of arguably the greatest zombie film of all time, George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, but who cares? This tongue-in-cheek zombie-smashing action game allows gamers to run though a gigantic mall teeming with brain-eating zombies. One of the best features of Dead Rising is the unbelievably huge arsenal of weapons in the mall you can kill zombies with (over 250), including everything from toy swords to lawnmowers.
Also Try: Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
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I have 14 of 23 games on the list. Horror is my favorite genre. Nice article GP.
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Yay, Silent Hill 2 made #2 but seriously RE4 as #1??? it should have been RE2 or Code Veronica.
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I think Fatal Frame I and II were the scariest games I've ever played. BioShock wasn't scary; there were a couple of shock-type scares, but that was it.
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George Romero makes the worst movies ever. Dawn of the dead and Land of the dead sucked so bad. Even though there weren't officially zombies the first 28 days later is the best of those types of movies by far.
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SlickJames, did you see Diary of the Dead? OMG...worst zombie movie ever. I love the original trilogy, though.
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Great list! RE4 is one of my favorite games of all time, so definitely my favorite horror game. Didn't expect Dead Space to beat Bioshock... but I'm sure it could've gone the other way too. I'm currently working on Dead Space, and my next one will be Bioshock... so good to see new releases make the top of the list.
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i would take off RE4 off the list in General, and probably BioShock. both those games don't have enough to qualify as "horror".
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